Afterword

When Gioia and I first started dreaming of this trip, my hope was that our travels would shake me out of my comfort zone. Part of the reason why I wanted to visit places literally halfway across the world was precisely to be as far away from home and the things that were familiar to me as possible. Certainly, this trip did some of that. In fact, I’d imagine it’s impossible to visit three countries with three distinct languages, cultures, and customs without taking away a deeper understanding of the enormity of this world and by contrast the relative smallness of our lives. I’ll also go out on a limb and say that as an American, it’s probably healthy to see how the rest of the world operates (just because you were born somewhere does not mean you have to live your life that way!). I would never want to disrespect the individual people and cultures of Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea by generalizing them into one group, but I’ll say that in each country it was easy to find customs and ways of living that felt more natural and far better to me than whatever it is we’re doing here.

And yet, despite all of that, I must say that my single biggest takeaway from this trip was not how different these countries or cultures are but, by contrast, how much there is in common between people and places situated thousands of miles apart. Far from being pushed outside of my comfort zone, I felt myself more at ease than maybe I’ve been in my whole life. By finding and embracing these commonalities, I was able to connect with people whose lives, backgrounds, and even language were completely different from my own. Here, I do want to make a quick note of the inherent privilege I had in traveling and feeling comfortable in these environments. It’s something I hope to never take for granted.

But, if you’ll allow me one last soliloquy on the power of Taiwanese Cinema… Five years ago I couldn’t have told you one thing about Taiwan and then, almost by accident, I stumbled upon a series of Taiwanese films that spoke to and moved me as much as anything I’d seen before. And again, this was all in spite of having absolutely no knowledge or insight into Taiwan let alone its culture, history, or customs. But at a core level, I felt an unmistakable connection to these films and from there began to learn about Taiwan which eventually led Gioia and I to journey there as part of this trip. And once there, I felt as comfortable as I’ve felt anywhere to the point where, still without a common language, I was able to order food, get around, and even interact with a merchant about the films that led me there and which films I should watch next.

Now look, there are a million considerations to take when traveling abroad: be respectful, make an effort to engage with and adapt to the culture around you, always be cautious. Like seriously, don’t show up to Japan without an idea of some basic phrases and how to use the Metro. But, if you put your best foot forward, it’s amazing what travel can do for you. Not only did this two-week journey across Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea give me some of the best times and memories of my life so far, but it undeniably has changed my perspective on how I see people and the world around me. My hope is that those changes have been evident in these posts. If not, then I guess I’ll just have to go back and try again. Thanks for reading 🙂